That might have been the case with U.S. National Junior Team captain Jason Zucker following his team's disheartening 5-2 loss to the Czech Republic on Friday at Rexall Place.Zucker was one of the first players available to the media after the loss. The U.S. would later learn that they would be eliminated from medal contention for the first time since 1999.
When asked about his team's chances against Team Canada in the New Year's Eve clash on Saturday, Zucker responded:
"We're going to beat them," he said. "That's what we're going to do. We're going to try our best and we're going to go out there and we're not going to change anything we do. We're going to play."
Zucker was again asked about his comment Saturday morning:
"There is no guarantee, you can't guarantee a win in this tournament, but we're going to come out and play like we're going to win and that's what I was saying," Zucker said. "We're going to give it everything we have and, in our mind, we're going to win this game.
"It's a huge rivalry and you have to come out and give a good fight."
Follow Mike Morreale on Twitter at: @mike_morreale
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